Wednesday, 19 December 2012

LETTER TO CHIEFS

Dear Friends

We have sent the following letter to all the Chiefs for doing the needful in getting our problems solved.

I
do hope that they would take appropriate action to bring home the truth
to the leadership which has never been found wanting.

The anxiety of the leadership to solve our problems was obvious
from the MESSIANIC manner in which our Hon'ble RM took up the matter with the
Hon'ble PM and the reaction of the Hon'ble PM in promptly appointing a
Committee to solve our problems.

All the papers that have been sent to you earlier and given below after the letter to the Chiefs were also sent to the Chiefs.

You
will be pleased to know that we have received a positive response from
the Hon'ble RM to the papers submitted to him on 29 Sep during our
meeting. Copy attached.With best wishes

I wish to apprise you about our Meeting with the Hon'ble RM on 29 Sep.I am therefore attaching all the papers about the Meeting for your kind informationand necessary action.

2.The
entire Veterans community is shattered by what has happened and expects
you the Chiefs to get us our rightful dues by projecting the truth to
the benign leadership as we have tried to do. My services are available
if required by you.

3.The damage was done
when all our respected Chiefs went and made presentation, not once but
twice, to the Committee and demanded resolution of only few of our long
list of anomalies pending with the Govt. It is sad that this happened
when the entire Veterans community rejected it for our non
representation on it. I am sure you will agree that it showed us all in a
very poor light. Your request to the Leadership after first visit, for
our representation, had no meaning as the Committee had already been
legitimized by your presentations.

4.Whatever
has happened can not be undone. Now it is for you to figure out how you
are going to repair the damage so that we can get our rightful dues.

We had the pleasure of meeting the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri on 29 Sep with regard to the latest announcement on OROP.Brig Bhagwan Singh, Air Cmde Sushil Soni, Col Raj Singla, Lt Nar Singh Dass and Capt Mangal Singh were part of my Delegation.

The exchange of pleasantries were followed by the submissions we had gone to make. Before we however got down to talk about the problems, we presented the
RM with a Memento commemorating the 30th Anniversary of our Association.

To
begin with we presented him with a paper about the recent award
prepared by our team led by Lt Nar Singh Dass, our Gen Secy on
Pensionary Matters. This dealt with what
we got as a result of this announcement in real terms. (Paper follows).
This was prepared with whatever little information we had. We welcome comments from all of you on what we have stated so that the entire paper can be corrected to give as true a picture as possible.We
apprised him that what has been given is no where near OROP and it all
tantamounted to bureaucracy cheating us the Veterans and misleading the
leadership.

Heagreedthat what has been given is not OROP but assured that they have given this much for now. More will follow.

We
then submitted that the recent Koshyari Committee had worked out the
expenditure of Rs 1300.00 crores for grant of full OROP. The Cabinet Secy's Committee has not even given 25 % of what OROP signifies and has
announced the sanction of Rs 2300.00 crores, almost twice the amount
required for meeting this one single most important demand of OROP for
the last 31 years.

With
this one stroke, not only they achieved their aim of denying us our
rightful dues but also conveying to the leadership how generous they
are, as against our demand of Rs 1300.00, they have sanctioned 2300.00
crores. Indirectly also conveying to the leadership how ungrateful and
greedy we the veterans are that an amount of Rs 2300.00 crores also does
not make us feel grateful to the Gov't and satisfied.

We also submitted what we feel may have been done to bloat this figure -

Bureaucracy
has been misleading the leadership for over 15 years on Rank Pay which
the Fourth CPC had granted and very proudly denied to the Veterans by
the bureaucracy. Recently the Govt lost that case. The Hon''ble Supreme
Court has directed the Govt to pay the dues amounting to Rs 1600.00
crores within three months with interest. This being the Supreme Courts
final order has to be carried out.

We submitted that obviously, the bureaucracy has clubbed this amount of Rs 1600.00 crores with another Rs 700,00 crores of the total amount of Rs 1300.00 crores required for OROP and made it Rs 2300.00 crores.

We
then appealed to him to please have the matter investigated. Any body
found guilty of misleading the leadership should be punished. We further
appealed that the Gov't should also take appropriate action to find out
the persons who were responsible for the sufferings of the veterans in
Rank Pay case. Once they are identified they should not only be
proceeded against but also made to pay the interest amount to the
affected veterans.

I am glad to say that The Raksha Mantri gave us a very patient hearing and we expect that the more to follow comes up fast.

We have worked out a paper on what the Cabinet Secretary Committee has conceded.

I attach the same for your kind information.

As
per our understanding what has now been conceded is what the Sixth CPC
had recommended to be given to the pre -2006 retirees of the Armed
Forces but denied to them by the bureaucracy. The 6th CPC applicability
of the same is to be effective wef 01 January 2006 But the Cabinet
Committee has made applicability from September 2012 despite the fact
that AFT had earlier given ruling that the date be wef 01 January 2006
as recommended by the 6th CPC. So, what is given is not OROP but release
of recommendations of 6th CPC less the justified arrears effective 01
January 2006.

1.One Rank One Pension (OROP).First of all heading should be changed either No, One Rank One Pension or Bridging the Gap.

(a)Pre-2006 (PBOR’s).Refer
Para 1(i) OF pib DT 24.9.12 pre 2006 JCO’s are not at all benefited,
other ranks are benefited by only Rs 219/- to Rs 510/- PM, whereas there
is a difference of more than Rs. 2500/- to Rs. 3500/-from Sep to Hav.This likely increase in the pension of Pre -2006pensioners is due to 2 yrs weightage being allowed to Sepoy to Havildar in case of Pre&Post 2006 retirees.

EXAMPLES

Rank

Years

Group

Existing

Pension

Likely

Pension

Difference

Circular No 430

Table No

Sep

15

Y

4603

4879

276

2

Sep

17

Y

4879

5339

460

2

Nk

17

X

5750

6210

460

11

Nk

19

Z

5060

5436

376

15

Hav

22

X

7140

7650

510

21

Hav

24

Y

6564

6783

219

24

(b)Post 2006 (PBOR).
As pensions of Post 2006 is 50% of last pay drawn after serving for 15
years, whereas pre 2006 retirees pension is determined shall be the
pension for 33 years ofof reckonable qualifying service including rank weightage for lesser period of qualifying service the amount shall be reduced.In case of post 2006 Sepoy to Havildar their pension is more than Pre 2006.

(d)Honorary Commissioned Officers. Nothing is mentioned in Press Release of PIB about Honorary Commissioned Officers’s in OROP Section.During every Pay Commission prior to 6th CPC a fixed Pay and Pension was fixed for HCO’

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EXAMPLE

IVTH CPCVTH CPC

Rank

Pay

Pension

Pay

Pension

Hony Lt

3300

1650

10500

5250

Hony Capt

3400

1700

10850

5425

VITH CPC

Rank

Pay Band

Grade Pay

MSP

Pension

Hony Lt

16500-39100

5400

6000

13500

Hony Capt

16500-39100

6100

6000

13850

Note:-
Minimum Fitment Tables for Hony Lt & Capt was not listed in any of
the SAI 1/S/2008, SNI 1/S/2008 & SAFI 1/S/2008, because of only one
pay scale for each rank whereas wef 1.1.2006 it was supposed to be as
follows :-

(e)Commissioned Officers.
Refer Para 1(ii) of PIB regarding pensions of pre 1.1.2006 Commissioned
Officers. The pensions of Commissioned Officers is to be stepped up
with reference to minimum of Fitment Table for the rank instead ofthe minimum of Pay Band.

EXAMPLE

VTH CPC

RankPayRank PayTotalGPMSPLikely

Pension

Lt8250 +Nil=8250x1.86 + 5400+6000 = 26750/2=13500

Capt9600 +400 =10000x1.86+6100 +6000 = 30700 /2=15350

Major11600+ 1200=12800x1.86+6600+ 6000= 36410 /2=18205

3

RANK WISE PENSION OLD AND NEW

Rank

Existing Pension

Likely Pension

Difference

Lt

13500

13500

Nil

Capt

13850

15350

1500

Major

14100

18205

4105

Lt Col

25700

26262

565

Col

26050

27795

1745

Brig

26150

29145

2995

Maj Gen

26700

30350

3650

2.Enhancement of Family Pension (Pre-2006).Refer Para 11 (i) of PIB regarding enhancement of family pension.The
family pension of Commissioned Officers, Hony Commissioned Officers,
JCO’s/Ors is to be stepped up based on the minimum of fitment Table
instead of the minimum of Pay Band.

Examples

* Commissioned Officers as per Minimum fitment tables.

Rank

Proposed Pension

Proposed Family Pension

Lt

13500

8100

Capt

15350

9210

Maj

18205

10923

Lt Col

26262

15757

Col

27795

16677

Brig

29145

17487

Maj Gen

30350

18210

JCOs/OR

** As per minimum Fitment Table of Pay

Rank

Group

Pay Mininum

Proposed Pension

Existing Pension

Sub Maj

X

21690

6507

5250

Sub Maj

Y

19360

5808

4830

Sub

X

20560

6168

5190

Sub

Y

18880

5664

4770

Nb Sub

X

18340

5502

5070

Nb Sub

Y

16660

4998

4650

Hav

X

13920

4176

3500

Hav

Y

11640

3500

3500

Nk

X

12850

3855

3500

Nk

Y

11040

3500

3500

Sep

X

12240

3672

3500

Sep

Y

10250

3500

3500

4

Note
:-For JCOs/OR refer next part also, The family pension worked out as
per formulation at (i) above or the pension on the basis of stepping up
with reference to the minimum of fitment table, which ever is
beneficial.

3.Dual Family Pension. It is a welcome step.

4.Family Pension to mentally/physically challenged Children. It is also a welcome step.

In
July this year, after assessing the situation arising as a result of
ongoing unrest in the Armed Forces, you were very truthful when you
warned the Prime Minister about the possibility of things turning bad.

The
entire Veterans community admired you for that as that was the
strongest representation of our cause by any Raksha Mantri I had seen in
the past thirty one years. Our hopes and aspirations rocketed sky high
as it was the first time any body had ever put across the true picture
about our legitimate demands. These were however short lived.

The
first knock we got when the Prime Minister appointed a Secretaries
Committee under the Cabinet Secretary to attend to our most legitimate
and some very longstanding problems. The most important of these being
OROP. When all this
happened I wrote a letter to the Prime Minister and also sent you a
copy. I enclose a copy for your kind information. I never expected it to
reach his desk and I have been proved right. The
disastrous trends started showing up when there was no representation
of the Armed Forces or Veterans in the Committee. The turning down of
the appeal of even the three Chiefs on this issue was an ominous sign of
impending disaster. Which did finally happen.

I wish to most
emphatically state that over the past thirty one years, what ever we
got, it was through the Congress Gov'ts. Other parties firstly did not
understand our problems, when we did explain to them they flattered to
deceive.

Since
the Congress genuinely wanted to solve our problems they had developed a
culture of forming committees with our representation on these, so that
correct decisions based on facts are taken for solving our problems.
Thus earning the sobriquet of being the most friendly party of the
Armed Forces. This reputation is at stake with all the latest
developments.

The
High Level Empowered Committee, 1990 was the last one in which we were
represented when we ensured that the bureaucracy did not get away with
their lies. Many problems including OROP as a result got solved.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2

That
is what the bureaucracy could not tolerate and set about creating a new
culture of forming inter ministerial committees, Cabinet secretary's
committees or a GOM in which we were left out to enable them to play
havoc with every demand of ours. All such committees are set up to get
rejection certificates of our demands by lying to the leadership. The
more powerful the Chairman the more powerful the rejection certificate.
In 2009 they got a certificate which they have been throwing at us. Now
they have got another one which they will utilize to bury OROP for ever.

What
they must be doing in the proceedings of the Committee is evident from
the Rs 2300.00 crores expenditure on our demands they have sanctioned.

Recently
Koshiary Committee had worked out the expenditure on grant of full
OROP as Rs 1300.00 crores.
They have not given us even a fraction of OROP but want us to believe
that the expenditure on what trash they have worked for us is Rs 2300.0
crores. Can the leadership ask them to explain how this figure has been worked out. I
cant say for sure till I inspect the files, but what I can make out is
that they fudged the figures to brow beat the leadership into accepting
their views of rejecting OROP.

As you are aware, the Govt has
finally lost the case with regard to Rank Pay after a prolonged
litigation. The expenditure for that is Rs 1600.00 crores with which the
bureaucrats can no more fool around as it has to be paid within three
months Add to that Rs 1300.00 crores for OROP, the total works out to Rs
2900.00 crores. To my mind they have clubbed the Rank Pay amount with
Rs 700.00 crores of the Rs 1300.00 crores of OROP and made it Rs 2300
.00 crores. Rs 1000.00 crores more than what Koshiary Committee
recommended. How
clever and a half. They killed two birds with one stone. First, they
have achieved their aim of denying OROP and more than that they have
impressed the leadership of their generosity in giving more than their
dues. In fact what they have given is a matter of disgust.

By
denying the Veterans OROP the bureaucrats have not only shattered the
hopes and aspirations of the veterans, but have also added salt to their
injured feelings.

I therefore appeal to you to kindly scrap the
recommendations of the Cabinet Secretary and grant us all that is our
legitimate due before it is too late. You perhaps would recollect that
your promise of 21 Feb 2010, to give us full parity with Sixth CPC
rates, is yet to be fulfilled.

Further start an inquiry for
making an example of the bureaucrats responsible for lying to the
leadership about OROP and delaying the dispensation of justice to the
officers in Rank Pay case for more than 15
years.

That is the least we expect from our Messiah who took up our cause strongly earlier.

We
have been pleading for grant of One Rank One Pension (OROP) ever since
1982. This demand is supported by over seven hundred Members of
Parliament through their Party Manifestos at one time or the other,
besides it had been agreed to by five Prime Ministers in the past. We
have however lost count of the number of times it has been strongly
recommended by Parliamentary Committees.

2.
The latest one was the Koshyari Committee of the Parliament
appointed to consider the longstanding demand of One Rank One Pension
(OROP). This Committee submitted their report in Dec 2011 to the
Parliament recommending in the strongest possible terms the immediate
grant of OROP. This report was rejected by the Hon'ble Raksha Mantri on
20 Apr 2012. Thereafter during the briefing by the MOD on 17 May to us,
about rejection of OROP by the RM, the matter was revived by the Hon'ble
RRM when he directed the Secretary of the ESM Deptt to prepare the case
for OROP with all its implications for discussion in July.

3.
We had been waiting for July to finalize the matter and suddenly we
hear that a Committee under the Cabinet Secretary
has been appointed to consider OROP and other matters. We have yet to
come out of the havoc created by the earlier Cabinet Secretary Committee
and here we are saddled with another one. The earlier Committee which
was appointed to correct the shortcomings of the Sixth CPC, instead
destroyed every system of working of dues of Armed Forces. What should
we be expecting from these Gentlemen when in their earlier AVTAR they
went out with a vengeance to destroy all that was good for us?

2

4.
We therefore submit that this noble initiative on your part will turn
out to be an exercise in futility, unless we are represented on it.
Such committees dealing with our problems without our say in these, are
got approved by the bureaucrats not only to mislead the leadership but
to also obtain a REJECTION CERTIFICATE OF OUR SUBMISSIONS, which they
can quote to the next Govt also. The more powerful the Chairman of such
committees the more powerful the REJECTION CERTIFICATE. They already got
one from the Cabinet Secretary the most powerful one, which they were
throwing at our faces, now they want another from him so that the OROP
is buried for ever.

5.
The last Committee in which we were represented was the HIGH LEVEL
EMPOWERED COMMITTEE in 1990, of which you as the Finance Minister and I
as representative of Ex servicemen were Members. In the proceedings the
bureaucracy tried to mislead the leadership but could not get away due
to our presence and presentation of the truth. As a result the entire
leadership was ready to give OROP, but could not do it due to serious
resource crunch, when to run the affairs of the Nation you sent our gold
reserves to UK. Finding our presence too hot they probably took an oath
not to have our representative in any such Committee in future and
started the fashion of inter ministerial committees, the GOMs Committees
and
Cabinet Secretaries committees for achieving their aims of keeping us
out. So much so that two Defense Ministers, heading two GOMs, who
promised to invite me for presentation of our case before taking any
decision, were not allowed to do so. One of them happened to be one of
the most powerful ministers of the Cabinet.

6.
On 17 May briefing in the MOD, after some discussions the RRM was very
kind to give very clear cut orders to the Secretary to prepare a case
for OROP for discussions in July. The Secretary had no way to avoid
doing what was right by the Veterans. Do we believe that the present
Committee has been appointed to wriggle out of the corner in which the
secretary had landed himself in during 17 May briefing?

7.
Respected Prime Minister Sir, it is time to get the problems of the
Armed Forces sorted out in their entirety rather than do window dressing
and again leave some kinks in the armory for the Bureaucrats to
manipulate things and bring us back to square one.

8.
The first step in solving our problems is to grant OROP by a Cabinet
approval and direct the Paying Authorities to implement. There is no
need for further examination of this problem as it has already been
flogged several times in the last thirty years of us taking it up with
various Govts and acceptance by five Prime Ministers including Indiraji
on 25 Jun 1983 and Rajivji on 13 Mar 1987. The Paying authorities also
do not need any guidance or support from the bureaucrats as they have
all the wherewithal, knowledge and the necessary work force to do it.

9.
The answer to our other problems does not rest in the Cabinet Secretary
Committee from which we are kept miles away for them to play havoc with
us. Please therefore cancel
their appointment unless we are represented. For satisfactory results
you need to take definite worthwhile steps without which we will be
landed in further trouble. This means appointment of an Interim Pay
Commission to undo the damage done by the earlier Cabinet Secretary
Committee and also address other problems which have come up later. Your
Govt had accepted our demand for appointing separate Pay Commission for
the Armed Forces in 2006/2007. There should therefore be no problem in
appointing an Interim Pay Commission now

3

10.
With your kind initiative we may get some of our problems solved for
now. This however is not going to end our agony unless your own
Philosophy of THINKING OUT OF THE BOX is put into practice for bringing
about a radical change in the entire set up of the Defense Forces. What
is required is the creation of instruments through which we can ensure
that such a situation does not arise. The following minimal actions
need to be taken:-

a)
Institutionalized inter action with the leadership on regular basis. A
separate Standing Committee of Voluntary Associations (SCOVA) for
Defense Ministry on the same lines as in Ministry of Pensions would meet
the bill.

b) Ex servicemen Department of the MOD to be staffed by retired and serving officers and men.

c)
Representation of the Armed Forces at all levels of decision making in
the MOD. Armed Forces are the only uniformed Services which have been
denied this privilege, resulting in all round trust deficit, which is
sad for us all and dangerous for the Integrity of the Nation.

d) Ex servicemen Commission be set up with full powers, on the same lines as of other Commissions like Minorities Commission.

11.
We look forward to an early response and announcement of acceptance of
all that has been submitted above and definitely before you come on the
ramparts of the Historic RED FORT on 15 August